Glenbrook North burst stuns Schaumburg
3-goal spree in 10-minute span leads to 3-1 win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
NORTHFIELD — In its infinite strangeness, soccer is often a game without precedent or certainly easy to fully comprehend. Riding a three-game winning streak and posting three shutouts, Schaumburg was riding the wave.
For the opening 20 minutes against Glenbrook North, the Saxons looked the part of a privileged team dominated by the outstanding play of midfielder Jessie Lopez.
"I saw him play for the first time on Saturday, and he's just a special player," Glenbrook North coach Paul Vignocchi said.
The ball seemed connected to his feet, and he wove the pieces at his command as Schaumburg dominated possession time and shots on goal. Glenbrook North keeper Ian Albert made two highlight reel stops. Momentum and time appeared very much on the Saxons' side.
Then, almost inexplicably, everything changed.
Glenbrook North scored a stunning three goals during a 10-minute burst in the first half, and the Spartans continued on to a surprising 3-1 victory over the No. 7 Saxons in a pool play game at the Northside College Showcase on Monday evening at New Trier's Northfield Campus.
The win out Glenbrook North (3-1) on a three-game win streak.
In the 19th minute, sophomore Spartans' forward Alex Kahn finessed a one touch that forward Kamil Barabas was able to command and catch Schaumburg keeper Edgar Avilla in no man's land -- off the line but too far from the ball to make a direct play.
"Alex tipped it from the keeper, and I was able to trap and I took a shot," Barabas said.
He punched the ball into the air, and it took a single bounce as it glided into the empty net. Schaumburg was suddenly reeling and the Spartans had everything on their side.
"How we play normally is once you score the first goal that's when the floodgates open," said Barabas, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Man who scored his first goal of the season. "All the momentum shifts forward, and that's when we first started attacking," he said.
Schaumburg was floored, suddenly unable to recapture the fluid and strong play of the opening 20 minutes.
"The goal that they got took the air out of our sails," Saxons' coach Hamid Hamid Mehreioskouei said. "I told my assistant before the game that if they got the first goal, they're going to feel a lot of energy. If we got the first goal, we'd be in a comfortable position."
Momentum is elusive and hard to classify. It takes different forms, especially in an 80-minute match where both teams have access to the ball and the chance to impose their will on the game. Schaumburg became momentarily unhinged.
"They outplayed us for 10 minutes," Mehreioskouei said. "My hat is off to them. They played smart soccer. They got the lead, and they packed it in.
"They played direct soccer and made us work for everything."
Schaumburg generated greater scoring chances in the field of play. The Saxons possessed with greater precision in the first half. Glenbrook North had fewer opportunities but they seized control.
"We had our chances and we didn't capitalize on them, and they capitalized on their chances," Mehreioskouei said.
The mistake that cost the Saxons on the first goal was effectively replayed in the 28th minute. Glenbrook North midfielder Jackson Grabill played a through ball that a Schaumburg defender allowed to pass and put forward Michael Papper in a golden position. He caught up with the free floating through-ball, took one dribble and punched in a shot for the 2-0 lead.
"The first mistake happened early, and I thought we could come back and pull a point out of the tournament. But then the second mistake happened, and I just thought it was going to be one of those days. Nothing went our way. [Papper] won the ball and just tapped it," Mehreioskouei said.
Glenbrook North was loose though focused to the task at hand.
"We saw we could play balls through," Barabas said. "We got down the line. We played balls in and that lead to even more goals and that started our victory."
Just over a minute after the second goal, Glenbrook North delivered the haymaker off a restart. Jackson was again the facilitator, serving a ball from the right wing that sophomore defender Mason Rose elevated and finished with a hard, clean header inside the near post in the 29th minute.
"Jackson called out my name on the backside and he told just to go up there," Rose said. "I just ran in there, and he played a beautiful ball.
"After 2-0, it's kind of a shaky score because if they score on us, it's 2-1 and they can get the momentum and possibly get another one. Three-zero just sends all the momentum towards us," he said.
Schaumburg (3-1) was unscored upon in the first 260 minutes of play and then surrendered three goals in 10 minutes. Lopez and forward Alexis Flores maintained the team's aggressive style and the Saxons never let up. They continued to fight, evidence of their own toughness and will to float around. Vignocchi saw enough of Lopez in his scouting to make a significant tactical change in how his team defends.
"We basically had three guys shadowing him all over the place, keeping our formation legitimate but we wanted to make sure we all knew where he was at all times," Vignocchi said.
The extra defenders appeared to frustrate Lopez, especially in the first half as he struggled to find his normal sure finishing touch inside the box.
"I was still nervous with eight minutes left," Vignocchi said. "Anytime you have a player like that, a 5-nothing lead is not big enough. He can change a game just like that."
Sure enough, Lopez broke free in the 67th minute for the Saxons. Glenbrook North maintained its cool. Time ran out for the Saxons.
Glenbrook North has made tremendous strides since a season-opening loss to Barrington.
"We have a young team, and the more they get adjusted to the high school game, the better they're going to be," Vignocchi said. "When you have a young team like this, they're going to come out with nerves. We got scored on against Barrington in the first 45 seconds and then we adjusted.
"It's not where you start, it's where you finish. This was a huge confidence booster for us."
Starting lineups
Schaumburg
GK: Edgar Avila
D: Christopher Melecio
D: Nikolas Davis
D: Andrew Ralston
D: Andrew Bird
M: Jessie Lopez
M: Jason Schoo
M: Daniel Artman
M: Freddy Arreola
F: Edward Gomez
F: Alexis Flores
Glenbrook North
GK: Ian Albert
D: Evan Just
D: Mason Rose
D: Evan Goldberg
D: Jackson Grabill
M: Ryan Golde
M: Tommy Arner
M: Eli Dryer
M: Mauricio Lasso
F: Kamil Barabas
F: Alex Kahn
Man of the Match: Kamil Barabas, F, Glenbrook North
3-goal spree in 10-minute span leads to 3-1 win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
NORTHFIELD — In its infinite strangeness, soccer is often a game without precedent or certainly easy to fully comprehend. Riding a three-game winning streak and posting three shutouts, Schaumburg was riding the wave.
For the opening 20 minutes against Glenbrook North, the Saxons looked the part of a privileged team dominated by the outstanding play of midfielder Jessie Lopez.
"I saw him play for the first time on Saturday, and he's just a special player," Glenbrook North coach Paul Vignocchi said.
The ball seemed connected to his feet, and he wove the pieces at his command as Schaumburg dominated possession time and shots on goal. Glenbrook North keeper Ian Albert made two highlight reel stops. Momentum and time appeared very much on the Saxons' side.
Then, almost inexplicably, everything changed.
Glenbrook North scored a stunning three goals during a 10-minute burst in the first half, and the Spartans continued on to a surprising 3-1 victory over the No. 7 Saxons in a pool play game at the Northside College Showcase on Monday evening at New Trier's Northfield Campus.
The win out Glenbrook North (3-1) on a three-game win streak.
In the 19th minute, sophomore Spartans' forward Alex Kahn finessed a one touch that forward Kamil Barabas was able to command and catch Schaumburg keeper Edgar Avilla in no man's land -- off the line but too far from the ball to make a direct play.
"Alex tipped it from the keeper, and I was able to trap and I took a shot," Barabas said.
He punched the ball into the air, and it took a single bounce as it glided into the empty net. Schaumburg was suddenly reeling and the Spartans had everything on their side.
"How we play normally is once you score the first goal that's when the floodgates open," said Barabas, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Man who scored his first goal of the season. "All the momentum shifts forward, and that's when we first started attacking," he said.
Schaumburg was floored, suddenly unable to recapture the fluid and strong play of the opening 20 minutes.
"The goal that they got took the air out of our sails," Saxons' coach Hamid Hamid Mehreioskouei said. "I told my assistant before the game that if they got the first goal, they're going to feel a lot of energy. If we got the first goal, we'd be in a comfortable position."
Momentum is elusive and hard to classify. It takes different forms, especially in an 80-minute match where both teams have access to the ball and the chance to impose their will on the game. Schaumburg became momentarily unhinged.
"They outplayed us for 10 minutes," Mehreioskouei said. "My hat is off to them. They played smart soccer. They got the lead, and they packed it in.
"They played direct soccer and made us work for everything."
Schaumburg generated greater scoring chances in the field of play. The Saxons possessed with greater precision in the first half. Glenbrook North had fewer opportunities but they seized control.
"We had our chances and we didn't capitalize on them, and they capitalized on their chances," Mehreioskouei said.
The mistake that cost the Saxons on the first goal was effectively replayed in the 28th minute. Glenbrook North midfielder Jackson Grabill played a through ball that a Schaumburg defender allowed to pass and put forward Michael Papper in a golden position. He caught up with the free floating through-ball, took one dribble and punched in a shot for the 2-0 lead.
"The first mistake happened early, and I thought we could come back and pull a point out of the tournament. But then the second mistake happened, and I just thought it was going to be one of those days. Nothing went our way. [Papper] won the ball and just tapped it," Mehreioskouei said.
Glenbrook North was loose though focused to the task at hand.
"We saw we could play balls through," Barabas said. "We got down the line. We played balls in and that lead to even more goals and that started our victory."
Just over a minute after the second goal, Glenbrook North delivered the haymaker off a restart. Jackson was again the facilitator, serving a ball from the right wing that sophomore defender Mason Rose elevated and finished with a hard, clean header inside the near post in the 29th minute.
"Jackson called out my name on the backside and he told just to go up there," Rose said. "I just ran in there, and he played a beautiful ball.
"After 2-0, it's kind of a shaky score because if they score on us, it's 2-1 and they can get the momentum and possibly get another one. Three-zero just sends all the momentum towards us," he said.
Schaumburg (3-1) was unscored upon in the first 260 minutes of play and then surrendered three goals in 10 minutes. Lopez and forward Alexis Flores maintained the team's aggressive style and the Saxons never let up. They continued to fight, evidence of their own toughness and will to float around. Vignocchi saw enough of Lopez in his scouting to make a significant tactical change in how his team defends.
"We basically had three guys shadowing him all over the place, keeping our formation legitimate but we wanted to make sure we all knew where he was at all times," Vignocchi said.
The extra defenders appeared to frustrate Lopez, especially in the first half as he struggled to find his normal sure finishing touch inside the box.
"I was still nervous with eight minutes left," Vignocchi said. "Anytime you have a player like that, a 5-nothing lead is not big enough. He can change a game just like that."
Sure enough, Lopez broke free in the 67th minute for the Saxons. Glenbrook North maintained its cool. Time ran out for the Saxons.
Glenbrook North has made tremendous strides since a season-opening loss to Barrington.
"We have a young team, and the more they get adjusted to the high school game, the better they're going to be," Vignocchi said. "When you have a young team like this, they're going to come out with nerves. We got scored on against Barrington in the first 45 seconds and then we adjusted.
"It's not where you start, it's where you finish. This was a huge confidence booster for us."
Starting lineups
Schaumburg
GK: Edgar Avila
D: Christopher Melecio
D: Nikolas Davis
D: Andrew Ralston
D: Andrew Bird
M: Jessie Lopez
M: Jason Schoo
M: Daniel Artman
M: Freddy Arreola
F: Edward Gomez
F: Alexis Flores
Glenbrook North
GK: Ian Albert
D: Evan Just
D: Mason Rose
D: Evan Goldberg
D: Jackson Grabill
M: Ryan Golde
M: Tommy Arner
M: Eli Dryer
M: Mauricio Lasso
F: Kamil Barabas
F: Alex Kahn
Man of the Match: Kamil Barabas, F, Glenbrook North